Minnesota Twins fall to Tampa Bay Rays when a one-run game suddenly becomes a rout

TAMPA, FLA. – After a 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, Twins reliever Brock Stewart lamented the sweeper he left over the middle of the plate to Jonathan Aranda, which was swatted for a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, as “one terribly executed pitch.”

Trevor Larnach apologized to pitcher Kody Funderburk for a misplay in left field during the eighth inning that cost the Twins any chance of a comeback at George M. Steinbrenner Field. And the offense totaled only six baserunners.

It was the first time the Twins lost consecutive games since a four-game losing streak from April 29 to May 2, and one of the first times all month that a game slipped away from them.

Stewart replaced starting pitcher Chris Paddack with two runners on base and one out in the sixth inning in a scoreless game. Aranda was his first batter. In a 1-2 count, Stewart opted to throw only the second sweeper he’s offered to a lefty batter all year.

“I did know that sweeper was a good pitch to him” from scouting reports, Stewart said. “I think I do have a good sweeper. Just terribly executed. Wasn’t convicted in it and just didn’t execute it. Leave a mistake like that over the plate, belt high. … He’s a good hitter. He’s having a good year. That’s usually what happens when you leave it there.”

Carlos Correa brought the Twins within one run, ending the club’s 15-inning scoreless streak with a two-run homer off Rays lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger in the seventh inning. Correa dropped his bat as soon as he completed his swing, a moonshot that sailed over the concourse in the minor league ballpark for his fourth home run of the season, and Cleavinger immediately turned away.

The Twins should’ve entered the ninth inning trailing by a run with the top of their lineup due, but Larnach dropped the ball. With two runners on base and two outs, José Caballero hit a fly ball to the warning track.

Larnach mistimed his jump in front of the left field wall, and the ball deflected off his glove, allowing two runs to score. Larnach said he didn’t have a good initial read on the ball, causing him to drift toward the wall, and then he wasn’t in the spot he wanted when he leapt.

BOXSCORE: Rays 7, Twins 2

MLB standings

“The combination of those two things didn’t put me in a good spot,” Larnach said. “I completely own that. It’s baseball, man, it happens. Obviously, I don’t want it to happen. That’s on me, that entire inning. I’m definitely going to say that to Fundy — I already did, but to reiterate that, that’s on me.”

Six pitches after the two-run misplay in left field, Larnach stood near the same area, leapt again and watched Danny Jansen’s fly ball drop beyond his glove for a two-run homer.

“We were right there in this game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Clearly not our best offensive effort, but we hit some balls hard. Got almost nothing out of the line drives we hit. … That’s probably the first part of it because you have to score to win.”

The Twins have scored three or fewer runs in four of their past five games. Rays starter Zack Littell, who pitched for the Twins from 2018-20, yielded three hits and one run across 6 ⅓ innings against his former team.

Christian Vázquez and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit back-to-back singles with one out in the third inning, the Twins’ first baserunners against Littell. Ryan Jeffers, the next batter, hit a slow comebacker back to the mound to start an inning-ending double play.

Kody Clemens lined a leadoff single into right field in the fifth inning, but it was erased five pitches later when Willi Castro grounded a ball to first base to start another double play. Littell was efficient, reaching a three-ball count just once. His pitch count by inning: 10, 12, 14, 12, 10 and eight.

The Twins are hopeful Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner will return to the lineup this week, though they had a 13-game winning streak earlier this month without a few of their top players.

“There are no excuses,” Baldelli said. “Buck should be back pretty soon. That’ll be real nice when it happens. But until then, we’ve got to come together and figure it out as a team, put good at-bats together. I don’t think we were that far off tonight, but we needed a little more.”